Architecture for ordered write of data collected in parallel

ABSTRACT

A system and method to perform an ordered write of timing analysis data obtained in parallel during integrated circuit development process two or more data sets with two or more processors in parallel. The two or more data sets result from timing analysis and correspond with two or more paths, each path includes a set of interconnected components, and the processing includes collecting and formatting information to obtain the timing analysis data associated with each of the two or more paths. The method includes determining a next timing analysis data using an ordered list of the two or more data sets that correspond with the timing analysis data, consulting an availability vector to determine whether the next timing analysis data is available, and writing the next timing analysis data as soon as it is available prior to completion of the processing of others of the two or more data sets.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to data collection and reporting, and morespecifically, to an architecture for an ordered write of data collectedin parallel.

Parallel processing (i.e., the processing of multiple threadsconcurrently) can result in a reduction in the time it takes to collectdata. The processing of each thread can require a different duration oftime. Thus, the completion of the processing of some threads can precedethe completion of processing of other threads. When the data that isobtained from all of the threads must be written in a particular order,the time saved by performing the processing in parallel can be undercutby the time it takes to ensure that processing of all the threads iscompleted such that data can be written in the proper order.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention are directed to systems and methodsto perform an ordered write of timing analysis data obtained in parallelduring integrated circuit development. The method includes processingtwo or more data sets with two or more processors in parallel. The twoor more data sets result from timing analysis and correspond with two ormore paths in an integrated circuit, each path includes a set ofinterconnected components, and the processing includes collecting andformatting information from each of the two or more data sets to obtainthe timing analysis data associated with each of the two or more paths.The method also includes determining a next timing analysis data amongthe timing analysis data obtained by the processing using an orderedlist of the two or more data sets that correspond with the timinganalysis data, consulting an availability vector indicating availabilityof the timing analysis data associated with each of the two or more datasets to determine whether the next timing analysis data is available,and writing the next timing analysis data as soon as it is availableaccording to the availability vector prior to completion of theprocessing of others of the two or more data sets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The examples described throughout the present document will be betterunderstood with reference to the following drawings and description. Thecomponents in the figures are not necessarily to scale. Moreover, in thefigures, like-referenced numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the different views.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system to perform integrated circuitdesign and an ordered write of data collected in parallel according toone or more embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the architecture used to perform an orderedwrite of data collected in parallel according to one or more embodimentsof the invention;

FIG. 3 illustrates the execution time for writing a path-based analysisreport using an architecture for an ordered write of data collected inparallel according to one or more embodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a process flow of a method of fabricating the integratedcircuit design that is finalized using the ordered write of a path-basedanalysis report according to one or more embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As previously noted, parallel processing of threads to obtain data thatmust be written in a particular order can present challenges.Previously, serial processing, which is more time-consuming thanparallel processing, was used to avoid the potential for data beingwritten out of order. Embodiments of the systems and methods detailedherein relate to an architecture for an ordered write of data collectedin parallel. Parallel processing is used to obtain data sets, and astatus vector is used to ensure that the next data set in the predefinedorder is written as soon as it is available (i.e., as soon as theprocessing of the associated thread is completed). An exemplaryapplication is detailed herein, but the embodiments detailed can be usedin other scenarios, as well.

Integrated circuit development involves several phases such as logicdesign, logic synthesis, and physical synthesis to finalize a designthat is ultimately fabricated into the integrated circuit (i.e., chip).Timing analysis is performed at different phases, sometimes iteratively,to ensure that the final design meets all timing requirements inaddition to functional and power requirements. The integrated circuitcan be subdivided into different hierarchical levels (e.g., cores thatinclude units that each include macros), and timing analysis can beperformed at any hierarchical level, as well as at different levels ofdetail. The components (e.g., logic elements, storage elements, latches)of the integrated circuit can be referred to as nodes, and, at a givenhierarchical level, signals propagate from input nodes through othernodes of the hierarchical level to output nodes. Each set of nodes froman input node to an output node defines a path.

Generally, the timing analysis for a given path involves beginning withthe arrival time of a signal at the input node and adding the delayassociated with that input node and with the edge (which represents awire) that connects that input node with the next node in the path toobtain the arrival time at that next node. In this manner, arrival timecan be computed for one node to the next in the path until the outputnode is reached. At a given node, timing tests can be conducted usingthe arrival time. For example, for a node that is a storage element, thearrival time can be compared with the required arrival time (RAT), whichensures that the data signal arrives at the storage element early enoughfor valid gating but not so early as to cause premature gating. When thearrival time precedes the RAT, the associated node is said to havepositive slack, while an arrival time after the RAT is referred to asnegative slack.

Slack indicates which paths of a given hierarchical level meet or exceedtiming requirements and which paths fail the timing requirements. Thus,slack is a useful metric in identifying paths or areas of the integratedcircuit that require redesign or another approach to improve timingperformance. Path-based analysis reporting is the reporting ofinformation about different paths within a hierarchical level ofinterest in an order that is determined by the slack associated witheach path. For example, information about the paths with the highestnegative slack (i.e., the paths that require the most improvement intiming) can be reported before information about the paths with thehighest positive slack.

Writing the report includes obtaining timing data for each node (i.e.,pin) of the path and formatting the data. This processing can be done inparallel for each path. For example, three processing threads canprocess three paths at a time. However, the slack-based path order thatis indicated prior to this processing must be used to write the dataassociated with each path in the proper order. Previously, processing byall the threads was completed such that all the paths were processed andready for the write operation in order to ensure that the report waswritten in the proper order. Because the processing by each of thethreads represents the most time-consuming aspect of the timing reportgeneration, this approach results in an inefficiency in the reportgeneration. Another approach used synchronization locks. Thearchitecture according to one or more embodiments of the inventionfacilitates the path-based analysis reporting, as detailed herein,without requiring synchronization locks. As previously noted, thearchitecture according to one or more embodiments of the invention canalso be applied to other scenarios that require an ordered writing ofdata that is obtained through parallel processing. The write function isperformed serially with respect to data sets but is performed inparallel with the processing of the data sets.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system 100 to perform integrated circuitdesign and an ordered write of data collected in parallel according toone or more embodiments of the invention. The system 100 includesprocessing circuitry 110 and memory 115 that is used to generate thedesign that is ultimately fabricated into an integrated circuit 120. Thesystem 100 also implements the architecture to perform the orderedwrite, as detailed herein. Once the integrated circuit design isfinalized, the steps involved in the fabrication of the integratedcircuit 120 are well-known and only briefly described herein and withreference to FIG. 4. The physical layout is finalized, in part, based onthe SADP-aware routing according to embodiments of the invention. Thefinalized physical layout is provided to a foundry. Masks are generatedfor each layer of the integrated circuit 120 based on the finalizedphysical layout. Then, the wafer is processed in the sequence of themask order. The processing includes photolithography and etch. Thefabrication is further discussed with reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the architecture used to perform an orderedwrite of data collected in parallel according to one or more embodimentsof the invention. At block 210, an order indicator specifies the desiredorder for the write. In the case of the path-based analysis reporting,the order indicator, at block 210, specifies the slack-based order inwhich timing analysis information for each path should be reported. Thework queue, at block 220, includes the individual data sets 225 thatmust be processed and written in the specified order. In the exemplarycase, the individual data sets 225 include timing data for each pin ornode within a path.

Parallel processing via multiple threads 230-1 through 230-n (generallyreferred to as 230) results in obtaining data and formatting, at block240. The multiple threads 230 can be implemented by multiple processorsof the processing circuitry 110 processing data sets 225 stored in oneor more memory devices comprising the memory 115 of the system 100. Inalternate embodiments, the multiple threads 230 can be implemented byprocessing circuitry 110 of multiple systems 100 in communication witheach other. The workgroup size specifies the number of data sets 225that are assigned to each thread 230 at a time. The workgroup size canbe optimized and adjusted, like the number of threads 230. In theexemplary case of the data pertaining to timing analysis, the individualdata sets 225 are timing data for individual paths. Thus, each thread230 processes one or more paths in turn and obtains timing data for eachnode in the path. The processing includes formatting the timing data, asneeded, to generate the path-based analysis report. As previously noted,the different threads 230 can complete the processing at differenttimes. Thus, according to one or more embodiments of the invention, adata status vector 250 is maintained.

A data string vector 245 has the same number of entries as the number ofdata sets 225 (e.g., number of individual paths with timing data) in thework queue. The data string vector 245 indicates (e.g., with the “*” asin FIG. 2 or with a pointer to the formatted data string) when aformatted data string has been obtained, at block 240, such that writeprocessing can begin. The data string vector 245 can be updated by thethread 230 that processed the path according to an exemplary embodimentof the invention. The status of the write processing is indicated by thedata status vector 250. The data status vector 250 also includes oneentry per data set 225 (e.g., timing data for an individual path) in thework queue. According to an exemplary embodiment, a value of 0 in thedata status vector 250 indicates that the corresponding data set 225 hasnot been processed by a thread 230. Thus, the initial value for allentries in the data status vector 250 can be 0. A value of 1 indicatesthat processing of the corresponding data set 225 is completed and thedata (e.g., timing data) is ready to write. A value of 2 indicates thatthe write is complete for the corresponding data set 225. Thus,according to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the thread 230that processed the path can update the corresponding value in the datastatus vector 250 from 0 to 1 in addition to updating the data stringvector 245.

A writer thread 235 performs the write of the data obtained andformatted, at block 240, to generate the ordered output 270. The writerthread uses the order indicator 210 to determine the next processed dataset 225 to write. That is, for the exemplary timing analysis case, theorder indicator 210 indicates the next path for which timing data shouldbe written into the path-based analysis report as the ordered output270. Rather than waiting for all the threads 230 to complete processingof their associated data sets 225 (paths), the writer thread 235 can usethe data status vector 250 to determine if the processed and formatteddata is ready. That is, if the data status vector 250 has a “1” in theposition corresponding with the next path, then the writer thread 235can write the formatted data into the path-based analysis report as theordered output 270. While the entry corresponding to the data set 225(path) in the data status vector 250 is changed from 0 to 1 while thewriter thread 235 is preparing the write (i.e., after the data stringvector 245 has the indication that the thread 230 has completedprocessing), the entry is then changed from 1 to 2 during the write.According to an exemplary embodiment of the invention, the writer thread235 can change the status in the data status vector 250 from “1” to “2.”In addition, the writer thread 235 can delete the formatted data (e.g.,from the memory location indicated by the pointer in the data stringvector 245) following the write operation. In this way, usage of memory115 can be made more efficient. As noted, the indicator (e.g., “1”) inthe data status vector 250 facilitates commencing the write as soon asthe next data set 225, according to the order indicated by the orderindicator 210, is ready to write rather than waiting for all the threads230 to complete processing. By facilitating the serial write function inparallel with the processing by the threads 230, the architectureaccording to one or more embodiments of the invention improves the dataprocessing and storage technology.

FIG. 3 illustrates the execution time for writing a path-based analysisreport using an architecture for an ordered write of data collected inparallel according to one or more embodiments of the invention. In theexample, ten paths are ordered from PATH 1 to PATH 10, as indicated bythe order indicator 210, and the workgroup size is two such that eachthread 230 is assigned two paths for processing at a time. Thus, thread230-1 is assigned PATH 1 and PATH 2, thread 230-2 is assigned PATH 3 andPATH 4, and thread 230-3 is assigned PATH 5 and PATH 6. The thread 230-1is assigned the next two paths, PATH 7 and PATH 8. Because thread 230-3completes processing of PATH 5 and PATH 6 before thread 230-2 completesprocessing of PATH 3 and PATH 4, thread 230-3 is assigned the remainingtwo paths, PATH 9 and PATH 10. As FIG. 3 indicates, some data sets 225can take longer to process than others. For example, the processing ofPATH 4 requires more execution time than the processing of PATH 6. Aspreviously noted, the workgroup size can be optimized or adjusted, asneeded, to ultimately minimize the wait time of the writer thread 235.The processing of each path by each thread 230 involves obtaining andformatting the timing data for the path, at block 240.

According to the architecture discussed with reference to FIG. 2, thewriter thread 235 writes the processed data for each data set 225 (path)serially but performs the write operation in parallel with theprocessing by the threads 230. Thus, as soon as PATH 1 is processed bythread 230-1, the data string indicator entry associated with PATH 1would indicate “*” and the writer thread 235 could commence the writingprocess without waiting for other threads 230 to complete processing.This is indicated by the execution time in FIG. 3. As also indicated,after the writer thread 235 completes the write for PATH 1, it must waitfor the processing of PATH 2, by thread 230-1, to be completed beforewriting the timing data for PATH 2. However, because PATH 3 processing,by thread 230-2, is completed even before the processing of PATH 2, bythread 230-1, the timing data for PATH 3 can be written, by the writerthread 235, as soon as the write for PATH 2 is completed. As FIG. 3indicates, wait times are minimized based on the fact that timing datafor the next path, according to the order indicator 210, can be writtenas soon as its processing by a thread 230 is complete without waitingfor any other thread 230 to complete processing. Thus, in the exemplaryapplication, the architecture according to one or more embodiments ofthe invention improves timing analysis as part of integrated circuitdevelopment.

FIG. 4 is a process flow of a method of fabricating the integratedcircuit 120 design that is finalized using the ordered write of apath-based analysis report according to one or more embodiments of theinvention. Once the physical design data is obtained, based, in part, onperforming self-aligned double patterning-aware routing according to oneor more embodiments of the invention, the processes shown in FIG. 4 canbe performed to fabricate the integrated circuit 120. Generally, a waferwith multiple copies of the final design is fabricated and cut (i.e.,diced) such that each die is one copy of the integrated circuit 120. Atblock 410, the processes include fabricating masks for lithography basedon the finalized physical layout. At block 420, fabricating the waferincludes using the masks to perform photolithography and etching. Oncethe wafer is diced, testing and sorting each die is performed, at block430, to filter out any faulty die.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, element components,and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

The flow diagrams depicted herein are just one example. There may bemany variations to this diagram or the steps (or operations) describedtherein without departing from the spirit of the invention. Forinstance, the steps may be performed in a differing order or steps maybe added, deleted or modified. All of these variations are considered apart of the claimed invention.

While the preferred embodiment to the invention had been described, itwill be understood that those skilled in the art, both now and in thefuture, may make various improvements and enhancements which fall withinthe scope of the claims which follow. These claims should be construedto maintain the proper protection for the invention first described.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product at any possible technical detail level of integration.The computer program product may include a computer readable storagemedium (or media) having computer readable program instructions thereonfor causing a processor to carry out aspects of the present invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, configuration data for integrated circuitry, oreither source code or object code written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Smalltalk, C++, or the like, and procedural programminglanguages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programminglanguages. The computer readable program instructions may executeentirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as astand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partlyon a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer or server. Inthe latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user'scomputer through any type of network, including a local area network(LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider). In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including,for example, programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gatearrays (FPGA), or programmable logic arrays (PLA) may execute thecomputer readable program instructions by utilizing state information ofthe computer readable program instructions to personalize the electroniccircuitry, in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of performing anordered write of timing analysis data obtained in parallel duringintegrated circuit development, the method comprising: processing two ormore data sets with two or more processors in parallel, wherein the twoor more data sets result from timing analysis and correspond with two ormore paths in an integrated circuit, each path includes a set ofinterconnected components, and the processing includes collecting andformatting information from each of the two or more data sets to obtainthe timing analysis data associated with each of the two or more paths;determining a next timing analysis data among the timing analysis dataobtained by the processing using an ordered list of the two or more datasets that correspond with the timing analysis data; consulting anavailability vector indicating availability of the timing analysis dataassociated with each of the two or more data sets to determine whetherthe next timing analysis data is available; and writing the next timinganalysis data as soon as it is available according to the availabilityvector prior to completion of the processing of others of the two ormore data sets.
 2. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1,further comprising assigning a number of the two or more data sets toeach of the two or more processors based on the number being apredefined workgroup size.
 3. The computer-implemented method accordingto claim 2, further comprising changing the predefined workgroup size.4. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, furthercomprising updating the availability vector following completion of theprocessing of any of the two or more data sets, wherein the availabilityvector includes an entry associated with each of the two or more datasets.
 5. The computer-implemented method according to claim 1, furthercomprising maintaining a write status vector with an entry associatedwith each of the two or more data sets, wherein the write status vectoris updated as each corresponding timing analysis data is prepared forthe writing and as the writing is completed.
 6. The computer-implementedmethod according to claim 1, wherein the collecting and formattinginformation from each of the two or more data sets to obtain the timinganalysis data includes obtaining timing data at an input pin and outputpin of each component among the set of interconnected components of thecorresponding path among the two or more paths.
 7. Thecomputer-implemented method according to claim 1, further comprisingproviding a final integrated circuit design for fabrication followingthe timing analysis.
 8. A system to perform an ordered write of timinganalysis data obtained in parallel during integrated circuitdevelopment, the system comprising: a memory device configured to storetwo or more data sets resulting from timing analysis of an integratedcircuit and corresponding with two or more paths in the integratedcircuit, each path including a set of interconnected components; two ormore processors configured to process the two or more data sets inparallel, wherein the processing includes collecting and formattinginformation from each of the two or more data sets to obtain the timinganalysis data associated with each of the two or more paths; and a writeprocessor configured to determine a next timing analysis data among thetiming analysis data obtained by the processing using an ordered list ofthe two or more data sets that correspond with the timing analysis data,to determine whether the next timing analysis data is available byconsulting an availability vector indicating availability of the timinganalysis data associated with each of the two or more data sets, and towrite the next timing analysis data as soon as it is available accordingto the availability vector prior to completion of the processing ofothers of the two or more data sets.
 9. The system according to claim 8,wherein each of the two or more processors is assigned a number of thetwo or more data sets to each of the two or more processors based on thenumber being a predefined workgroup size.
 10. The system according toclaim 8, wherein one of the two or more processors updates theavailability vector following completion of processing of any of the twoor more data sets, wherein the availability vector includes an entryassociated with each of the two or more data sets.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 8, wherein the write processor maintains a writestatus vector with an entry associated with each of the two or more datasets and is further configured to update the write status vector as eachcorresponding timing analysis data is written.
 12. The system accordingto claim 8, wherein the timing analysis data includes timing data at aninput pin and output pin of each component among the set ofinterconnected components of the corresponding path among the two ormore paths.
 13. The system according to claim 8, wherein a finalintegrated circuit design is provided for fabrication following thetiming analysis.
 14. A computer program product for performing anordered write of timing analysis data obtained in parallel duringintegrated circuit development, the computer program product comprisinga non-transitory computer readable storage medium having programinstructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable bya processor to perform a method comprising: processing two or more datasets with two or more processors in parallel, wherein the two or moredata sets result from timing analysis of an integrated circuit andcorrespond with two or more paths in the integrated circuit, each pathincludes a set of interconnected components, and the processing includescollecting and formatting information from each of the two or more datasets to obtain the timing analysis data associated with each of the twoor more paths; determining a next timing analysis data among the timinganalysis data obtained by the processing using an ordered list of thetwo or more data sets that correspond with the timing analysis data;consulting an availability vector indicating availability of the timinganalysis data associated with each of the two or more data sets todetermine whether the next timing analysis data is available; andwriting the next timing analysis data as soon as it is availableaccording to the availability vector prior to completion of theprocessing of others of the two or more data sets.
 15. The computerprogram product according to claim 14, further comprising assigning anumber of the two or more data sets to each of the two or moreprocessors based on the number being a predefined workgroup size. 16.The computer program product according to claim 15, further comprisingchanging the predefined workgroup size.
 17. The computer program productaccording to claim 14, further comprising updating the availabilityvector following completion of the processing of any of the two or moredata sets, wherein the availability vector includes an entry associatedwith each of the two or more data sets.
 18. The computer program productaccording to claim 14, further comprising maintaining a write statusvector with an entry associated with each of the two or more data sets,wherein the write status vector is updated as each corresponding timinganalysis data is prepared for the writing and as the writing iscompleted.
 19. The computer program product according to claim 14,wherein the collecting and formatting information from each of the twoor more data sets to obtain the timing analysis data includes obtainingtiming data at an input pin and output pin of each component among theset of interconnected components of the corresponding path among the twoor more paths.
 20. The computer program product according to claim 14,further comprising providing a final integrated circuit design forfabrication following the timing analysis.